"setting in of structural ignorance.."

This is something that was sent to me. It is written by one Hatem Bazian.  You can click on the link to read the full article:  Books and reading in the Muslim world: A serious crisis

I have removed those portions that I feel cannot be proven or substantiated.  So if you read the full article then you may know what are the parts which I feel cannot be proven or substnatiated.  

If you disagree with me then please bring your proofs to substantiate your beliefs. That would be a simple method of resolving issues. Just bring your proofs. No need for suicide bombers. 

Here is a gist of the article:

August 17, 2015

• stagnancy in Muslim world is fault of Muslims 
• abandoned true reading of the Quran
• which strongly emphasizes importance of knowledge

• Reading key to knowledge acquisition and expanding 
• the word "Quran" derived from root that means read, repeat or recite. 

• "Book" is one of the other names for Quran
• imperative verb "read" epistemological base for Islam 
• commands acquisition, preservation, transmission of knowledge
• books primary locus for preservation of knowledge 
• tool for constant expanding of human horizons 

• reading lost among overwhelming majority of Muslims
• companionship with books a dying enterprise
• in the past ..achieved heights through devouring books 
• understood diverse materials (that) disagreed with Islamic beliefs
• leaving behind reading occurred much earlier and continues to present

• Reading prerequisite for progress and development 
• not reading leads to the opposite. 
• Muslims collectively abandoned reading as an enterprise. 

• top 56 publishing houses in the world none in Muslim world. 
• top selling books not in Muslim world or written by Muslims
• reading outside of specialization is almost nonexistent. 
• lack of "contemporary book culture" in Muslim world 
• setting in of structural ignorance 

• Remedying problem requires enlightened leadership
• multi-year, multi-prong plans, resources to reverse trend
• begin by launching reading clubs, reading competitions for youth 
• hosted and overseen by highest levels of governments 
• investment in book publication and authors 
• creating network of book festivals that celebrate genius centered on books
• rethinking education institutions to center on reading and understanding
• "Read" is a command for lifelong learning 
• establish a book reading culture anew in the Muslim world

My comments :  Well let me say straight away that the writer Hatem Baizan's suggestions for remedying this poblem will not work in Malaysia. 

In Malaysia the people like to read cerita hantu, brain dead buku agama which do not use intellect or logic, novel cinta and other such non-challenging material. 

Some clever writers are trying to reach all the segments by writing novel cinta describing romantic relationships between genies and humans ('bercinta dengan jin').   

The more stupid the contents of the book, the more widely read it becomes in this country. 

Recently I met a young woman at the waiting area of a hospital. She was reading Imran Hossein's (that Trinidad guy) book about the 'end of the world'.   Full of pure imagination and fabrication. Even the Hollywood scriptwriters cannot write such stuff.  

Last week I went to Pekanbuku at University Malaya. It used to be among my favorite bookshops. It used to have huge amounts of titles : Islam, Religion, Politics, History, Military History etc. Now the shelves are half empty. There are hardly any English language books under Islam (yes almost none). The 'Pengajian Islam' section however is stocked to the ceiling.  The books are of not much use. Maybe of no use at all.  

"Terawih dan qiyamulail" said one title. Do you need a book for that?  I remember doing the terawih when I was seven or eight years old. My father taught me.  Villagers from Jawa to Kelantan to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan already know how to perform their terawih. Or qiyamulail.  

Do you need a book occupying limited shelf space in a university book shop to tell you about terawih and qiyamul ail? And even after reading these books, how do you know your terawih is better than the villagers in Bangladesh, Kelantan or India?

Of course none of this is in the Quran.

I want to ask all the Muslims, for almost a thousand years the Muslims have been down in the dumps. For the past 600 years the Muslims have not even been participants in history. They were either bystanders or they have become 'freakshows'. 

Over the past 70 years (since World War 2), the freakshow phase is on the rise again. This freakshow is still going on.   Just turn on your TV. 

There was another bomb blast in Bangkok - at a Buddhist shrine. (No it was not the Christians who did it. Neither was it the CIA or the Mossad. It was certainly someone under the influence of satan.)

Muslims cannot attack or destroy churches, synagogues, mosques and temples. Here is a commonly accepted translation of Surah 22:40 in the Quran  : 

 

English : [They are] those who have been evicted from their homes without right - only because they say, "Our Lord is Allah." And were it not that Allah checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is much mentioned. And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might (22:40)

Malay : "Iaitu mereka yang diusir dari kampung halamannya dengan tidak berdasarkan sebarang alasan yang benar, (mereka diusir) semata-mata kerana mereka berkata: "Tuhan kami ialah Allah". Dan kalaulah Allah tidak mendorong setengah manusia menentang pencerobohan setengahnya yang lain, nescaya runtuhlah tempat-tempat pertapaan serta gereja-gereja (kaum Nasrani), dan tempat-tempat sembahyang (kaum Yahudi), dan juga masjid-masjid (orang Islam) yang sentiasa disebut nama Allah banyak-banyak padanya dan sesungguhnya Allah akan menolong sesiapa yang menolong ugamaNya (ugama Islam); sesungguhnya Allah Maha Kuat, lagi Maha Kuasa" (22:40)

What this means is that Muslims cannot go around destroying buddhist temples, pulling down the cross on churches and other such behaviour. Tak boleh lah. That is the behaviour of the M.U.I.S*

Here is a simple test. 

1. If you can provide proofs for what you say, then you are more likely to be not under extremist influences.

2. If you cannot speak calmly and intelligently to prove your belief system, then you are possibly under satanic influences. 

3. If you cannot prove your beliefs, but you insist you are right and everyone must believe as you believe, then you are certainly a MUIS.

4. If you say that you will kill people who do not believe like you, or destroy their churches, mosques and synagogues then you are most definitely a MUIS.

This test can be self administered. So go ahead. Take the test.

MUIS means 'muslims under the influence of satan'. (Any similarity or resemblance in the pronounciation of MUIS to other individuals, groups or organisations is purely coincidental and not deliberate.)